By carrying the torch for Tory policies, the GLC undoubtedly contributed to Edward Heath's election victory in 1970, but Plummer did not appear to hit it off with the new prime minister; and there was resentment among his colleagues on the GLC when he was passed over in the 1971 New Year's Honours...

The omission was rectified in the Birthday Honours the same year, but relations between County Hall and Downing Street remained prickly. In 1972 Plummer was attending a conference of city leaders in Tokyo when he was surprised to receive a phone call from Number 10 complaining about the traffic in central London and demanding to know what he intended to do about it.

The previous evening, Heath had had to walk the 200 yards from the Commons to Downing Street because of a traffic snarl-up in Parliament Square, and had arrived 10 minutes late at a reception he was giving. Furious at the delay, the prime minister instructed a member of his staff to track down the man responsible and give him a dressing-down.

Sensing a wonderful opportunity for free publicity (and relishing the prospect of having a little fun at Heath's expense), Plummer retorted that traffic jams would continue unless Parliament legislated for the GLC to build new roads. He had been lobbying ministers to this effect for years, he observed, but to no avail.

At the conference the following day, to gales of laughter, Plummer related the incident to his fellow city leaders: "All this because Ted had to walk from Parliament to a party he was giving at Number 10."

Tony Travers has written an obituary of Plummer for the Guardian and I will link to that when it appears. Only one ex-GLC leader is now alive. You may have heard of him.

Update, 11 October: Tony Travers's piece has now been published. I love these bits:

Carnaby Street in the West End was pedestrianised during his period of office. Efforts were also made to remove all traffic from Bond Street and Oxford Street, though neither fully succeeded...Plummer's administration considered road pricing, while Plummer himself saw electric cars as offering a solution to pollution...Studies were undertaken into exotic plans for a monorail along Regent Street and an underground freight railway. The beautifully named Operation Moondrop attempted to keep roads clear by restricting deliveries to night-time.

Also, this;

In 2007 the London School of Economics held a seminar at City Hall, hosted by Ken Livingstone, to mark the 40th anniversary of Plummer's election win. Many former GLC and LCC members were able to look back at the city's development since the 1960s. In a public conversation with the local government analyst George Jones, Plummer reminisced about leading the capital during an extraordinary period. Livingstone, himself a traditionalist, took great care of his frail predecessor.

On his radio show on Saturday, Livingstone wondered how Lord Plummer's death would be marked by City Hall. He and Travers's tribute have got me wondering the same thing.